1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to utility meters, such as gas, water and electric meters, and particularly to a system and method for remote utility meter reading.
2. Description of the Related Art
Utility meters, including gas, electric, and water meters, require periodic metering at the location of the meter. Visual inspection by authorized personnel is used, as opposed to automatic systems, in order to prevent tampering. Given the exponential growth rate of homes and other buildings that use public utilities, the ability to manually monitor each and every meter has become burdensome. It would be desirable to provide a remote monitoring system that still utilizes visual inspection, but which does not require a physical presence at each meter.
In addition to the time and effort required to personally monitor each meter at its location, meter readers must travel to each meter, typically following pre-planned routes. This prevents a utility company from being able to monitor a specific meter on demand. Even if a meter reader is rerouted to a particular location, the meter reader must still spend time traveling to the location, and the meter cannot be read instantly. Thus, a system and method for remote utility meter reading solving the aforementioned problems is desired.